Choosing Vongola Decimo's Wife
by arxiel neaer
Summary: She gritted her teeth in irritation. She didn't see the point of all of these. It should be her.
1. Prologue

A/N: Here it is again. I'm sorry for the disruption.

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

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><p>Days rolled fast, time traversed unnoticed. The night of the scheme approached as with the anticipating individuals in a thunderless rainy night. The dark sky flashed with beatiful lightnings, painting it white at a second, then got swallowed again by blackness.<p>

A woman woke up from a short slumber. She got up from the sofa, and waited for her the sight to get used in the dark with the help of recurring lightnings. She raised her arm in the air for a stretch. Her eyes were still drowsy but the quick recall of a certain responsibility made her blood coil to wakeness. She stood as quickly, and noticed a brave brown pest that crossed, in haste, in front of her. With a sudden leap of the heart, she convulsed away halting herself from screaming, and though she had a big respect for living beings, she did not have second thoughts of stepping on the poor creature. She took a deep breath, slid the dead pest aside and took a seat near the big glass window.

Just like the pitiful squelched cockroach, some people would be gone that evening. Pests, after all, are not treated so nicely in the mafia society.

She set the thick curtains aside and took a glance of the nice rain droplets hitting the window, her mind dueting with the sound that it made. She sat and rest her arm on the adjacent wooden table to where she laid her chin comfortable and breathed deeply. She was still tired and sleepy but rest have to wait that night.

There was a laptop across her. Its cord plugged into a socket just a few feet away from the table. She kindled the laptop making a room appear on the screen.

Two people were inside the room – a man in his forties, wearing a black tuxedo with his hair worn neat and streaked with black and whites; the other was a young lady dressed in a fuschia pink cocktail dress with her long red hair drooping down classily.

The hidden cam caught a good glimpse of the well-lighted room showing the old man sitting in front of his table while the miss stayed on a nearby maroon sofa with a leg crossed over the other showing her high-heeled black striped sandal .

"I'll kill to be Tsunayoshi Sawada's bride," the miss started.

The woman, which we will now call 'the listener', sighed in sarcasm as she closed her eyes and rested her head on the chair's support.

The boss laughed. "I don't care how we get involved with the Vongola, but being directly connected with them would bring great deals of money. No one would want to miss such opportunity."

"Don't misunderstand, dad. I like this Vongola's boss. I want him for myself." The listener glimpsed at the laptops's screen and found the miss playing with her long red hair. The listerner raised an eyebrow wearily.

"So it seems. But put this in mind, we'll be hitting two birds with one stone," the boss said meaningfully. He stood up and approached a black shiny table where a red wine and two glasses were set. "We are all aware that Vongola is the most powerful family underground. Having its boss as a son-in-law…," he continued with a snicker as he was done pouring the wine in the glass.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes, accepting the half-filled glass her father offered.

The man sighed, returning to his table. He sipped his wine. He rested his elbows on the table, and relaxed his chin in his intertwined fingers. "Now, now, why would Vongola in such rush to find their boss a wife?"

"Maybe he's tired of being alone." The miss shrugged.

The listener snickered, but she might as well agree to what the miss said. News that the boss of the most powerful mafia family was searching for a wife had broken throughout the underground society. And being the rotten world it had always been, of course, a lot of opportunistic individuals wouldn't even have second thoughts venturing into the offer. She, the listener, stood up from the couch and walked around the room examining the books and paintings present therein ignoring the fact that doing so was difficult without bright lights.

Done with shambling around the dark room, she strode back near the big clear window that revealed a dark thick forest amidst the rainy nightfall. She crossed her arms over her chest as she continued listening quietly.

"Dad, if I had the Vongola's boss dancing with my fingers, we'll be powerful and rich, right?" She felt the haughtinesss in the miss' voice, and the raspy duo of their laughs.

The listener's phone rang. A certain name registered on its screen. "We're outside the room," the caller informed. "We're waiting for your signal."

She glanced on the laptop's screen. The father and daughter were having their good times, taking cheers, and laughing, continuously rambling over the wealth they could gain.

The miss had emptied his wine glass.

"Go," the listener instructed and she cut the line.

Seconds after, her laptop's screen showed a bloody raid.

The door was destroyed when it crashed down the burgundy carpet. A blue-haired man lead the break-in, greeting the surprised father and daughter with a mischievous grin and hatred that never left his eyes. Five men in complete dark suits were behind him, holding their guns aimed at the two.

The angry voice of the boss resounded within the room but whatever the remaining superiority in him was not able to stop the bullet that hit his forehead. He fell with a dull heavy sound. The hysterical scream from the miss was just as useless.

The listener closed her eyes. Even if she wasn't in front of the screen, in her mind, she had a clear view of what just happened.

"Dad! Oh my god! Dad!" Her shrieks and sobs brought shiver down the listener's spine. "Adalfieri, you bastard! You'll pay for what you've done! You can never ran away from Asretto!"

Adalfieri laughed a derisive one.

"After the kind of treatment your subordinates had felt under you and your father's hands, you think they will come here and save the kinds of you? You think you still own Asretto?" His voice was overlaid with bitterness and sarcasm. "Follow your father to hell." He pointed the gun at her. And before the miss could scream her last, the gun was fired.

For being alone in that room, the listener was thankful. She didn't want anybody to see her shaking. There's no turning back now.

She didn't ask for this to happen. She wasn't that heartless to let all of that happen. It was just that Asretto's boss and the miss had gone beyond the limit; their subordinates had enough of it and coup d' etat was what it all accounted to. She strode towards the table and rested her head on it, taking in deep breaths for solace.

She heard her phone rang. She was hesistant to answer it but Fieri's name registered on her phone's screen. She stared at the laptop's monitor, the man was waiting for her to pick up. She had no choice. "Hello."

"You must have seen and heard what's happening in here. Satisfied?"

Her heart was beating fast, scared, unsure of all that happened. She convinced herself that it was all for everyone's good; with the pang of guilt subsiding, she mustered all courage she had and replied. "Then why would you bother calling me if you knew I can see you from there?"

Adalfieri laughed. "What? You wouldn't want to greet the boss after a successful annihilation of such nasty superiors?"

She stared at the laptop and saw him waved, a rewarding smile not vanishing from his handsome face.


	2. Chapter 1

**His Pitiful Circumstances**

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><p>Nana Sawada stepped out from the house to make sure the gate was locked. It was a routine she did every night. But this time, there was something different. She noticed something in the gate's intertwined bars. It was a newspaper. She pulled it out, baffled, since nobody would deliver such especially at night. The newspaper's name was 'Underground Times', and she never heard of such paper. Her eyes widened in surprise to what met her eyes upon stumbling on the front page. She gasped sharply, racing inside the house while suppressing her excitement. She was sure her husband would be surprised, too.<p>

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><p>"Damn it, Reborn! This isn't funny at all!" Tsunayoshi Sawada heaved out continuous breaths as he raised his voice against his tutor. What the arcobaleno did was causing an uproar in the whole underground society, and the most embarassed person affected was him. His patience sapped when he found the cursed hitman tutor sitting inside his office while sipping his espresso in complete supremacy.<p>

"Shut up, dame-Tsuna." He crossed his legs and rested his elbows on the chair's arm supporters. He met his eyes. "You think I'm just doing this for fun?"

Tsuna shuddered, but still, the one who was to being deprived of a life of one's own choice was him!

"Sure, broadcasting to the whole world that I'm looking for a wife, that's insane! You never told me about this. What's next? That I'm looking for someone who's going to be my fling?" The frown in his face didn't disappear.

Reborn was quiet for a while. Tsuna grabbed the newspaper from his desk and observed other details pertaining to the add. He got his picture occupying almost the entirety of the front page with big raging letters saying, VONGOLA DECIMO: SEARCHING FOR A BRIDE! There were no qualifications or requirements enumerated. No contact numbers, e-mail adds or concerned people to be asked for further details. If you had a copy of it, you think it would just be a joke, well, it's a different story in mafia though. The more vexing part is, he didn't know it was published and disseminated to the whole underground society three days ago!

Tsuna wouldn't really care of whatever Reborn wanted to do. He could marry anyone of his hitman tutor's choice, but not telling him of what's exactly is going on was vexing. All through out his current life, he followed Reborn - involuntarily, might I add. There was nothing he could do to refuse because he was ruthlessly one Spartan mentor though everything he did was sensible. The man-kid was undeniably dependable. He knows best, as if that was he always wanted to slap in his face. He was always good at everything that even Tsuna considered surrendering the position of being Vongola's boss to him. Reborn, through the years, had been far more seriously jubilant on tormenting him for the purpose of training and learning. Still, Tsuna couldn't grasp the reason for the sudden seek out for his going-to-be wife.

"Asretto's been on the run, Tsuna." Reborn broke to his thoughts.

"Are you planning to get away from our talk, Reborn?" He accused saracastically.

Reborn ignored what he said. Gokudera, all of a sudden, entered the room. "Jyuudaime!" He paused, catching his breath. "Are you sure about settling down?" He went on, as if marrying was one of the worst decisions ever which is true to almost all men out there.

Tsuna's phone office suddenly rang. He never had the chance to say hello since the person on the other line countered him with a deafening voice that almost destroyed not just his hearing but all of his senses.

"Is it true that you're looking for a wife?" His father roared on the line.

"It wasn't –"

And before Tsuna could refuse, Reborn gave her a kick in the face, having the chance to grab the phone. He even dared give him an excuse. "Sorry, I slipped."

Gokudera's phone also rang. It was Haru. "Is it true that Tsuna's looking for a wife? Is he there? Give him the phone. Now!" Even though his phone was not on loudspeaker, the lady's vociferous words echoed inside the room. I give no doubt if Iemitsu heard it. Either way, Gokudera, with bashed ears, stared at Tsuna with sympathy seeing how rigorous his boss shooked his head with eyes pleading. Meanwhile, Tsuna's personal phone rang too. It was Basil.

"Sawada-dono, are the papers real?" Tsuna saluted the calmness in Basil's voice but the one who grabbed the phone from him was no better than his dad nor Haru.  
>"What's gotten into you, hey! You sick of being alone with Reborn, hey!" It was Colonello.<p>

"Co-lo-nel-lo!" Tsuna, for the sake of his condemned ears, just wished he'd die right there at that time. Lal Milch's bossy voice was still giving him heart attacks. "Oi, brat, Tsunayoshi Sawada, you dare broadcast that you're looking for a wife? Are you playing with us? This is mafia! Not a dating game! Be thankful I'm not there or else I'm gonna kick your ass!" Yes, indeed. He was thankful that Lal Milch was on a mission somewhere in the opposite side of Earth.

Gianini appeared on the screen of Tsuna's computer. "Boss, it seems that Varia wants to speak to you. I'm directing you to them." Before Tsuna could stop that, Xanxus with his usual majestic sitting and his loyal(?) followers appeared on the screen. He tossed his phone to Gokudera and sat in his swivel chair.

"VOIII! Vongola-brat! You dare stain the name of Vongola!" Squalo took all over the monitor with that angst-inflicting face. Bad timing, Tsuna had all the speakers at their maximum at that time. Everybody in the room felt they were electrocuted, even those who were on the other lines.

"I'm not even doing anything!" Tsuna refute, but was useless.

"Ushishisi. The Vongola boss is tired of being alone."

_That's not it. Damn it._

Lussuria, next, took over the monitor. "Muah, voila! Ciao, Decimo. I'm very touched by what you've done. Yes, you gotta find love!" He almost sang. Tsuna wished his voice would somehow broke the monitor and, apparently, this communication between him and Varia. By then, Tsuna heard a gunshot, immediately earning his attention. He noticed Xanxus frown got even sharper. "What are you doing?" His grumpy voice and the glare that never left him made him shiver. And though that was just a monitor, Tsuna felt his life sapping out.

"Vongola!" Lambo ran into the room as if in danger, and accidentally tripped over the computer's cord. The computer's monitor turned black. To that, Tsuna was thankful. He doesn't have any idea what to say to Xanxus. Whatever, he'll fix that later. Tsuna turned to Lambo with a dreadened look. He was sure this teenager would asked if the ad was true.

He got all panicky."I-It's not what you think! Bianchi-nee is…!"

"Tsuu-naaa!" It was Bianchi's angry voice. Tsuna was perplexed. Why would the woman be angry with him? Thanks to his reflexes, he was able to dodge a variety of purplish, not seemingly delicious pies the woman threw. Pies that seemingly melts whatever it touches, I daresay. And even though it was his right hand man's job to protect him, Gokudera ran out of the room clutching his stomach and dropped the phones while he was at it. You know what kind of history this brother and sister has, don't you?

"You dare marry before Reborn and me! I'll never let that happen, you brat!" She barked while continuously throwing those hazardous pies at him.

"Tsuna, your mom wants to speak to you," Yamamoto announced as he entered his office, shoving his phone to him. "Your line was busy." He gave him an empathetic smile. Thanks to all the gods above for Bianchi ran out of pies. Lambo ran out the room and Bianchi chased him as if forgetting about Tsuna's case. "Romeo, you better hide good, bastard!"

Tsuna breathed deeply as he took the phone. "Hello, mom."

"Kyaa! You finally decided to get married! I didn't know you're a romantic person, Tsu-kun! I'm looking forward to meet her." What a withstanding patience I have, Tsuna praised his self. It seems people that day have a predilection of raising their voices at him. Was it a karma in Reborn's case? But no, Tsuna will never regret shouting at the arcobaleno. Give me a break, he thought.

"M-mom," he sighed. Tsuna's eyes scanned for Reborn but he was gone. "There's no 'her' yet." His attention was diverted when he heard an uproar outside his office. "Mom, I'll get to you when I have the time. Bye."

"What's going on?" He asked, finding a noisy crowd of his subordinates outside.

"Boss, we're receiving a lot of phone calls asking if the papers were authentic. Please answer them for us!" They all asked and bowed in unison.

"They've been pestering us." One carped.

"They're asking how to apply and all those requirements and qualifications," another entreated.

Then all of them began speaking at the same time, voicing out the same complains (though in other words). Tsuna held his head in frustration. He wanted to scream, cry, get lost, die, and all those damned feelings out there.

"Ignore them. Better yet, turn off your phones. No, just change your numbers. Wait, why don't we throw all these communication gadgets away." He jabbered. All of his men quieted. Seriously, he considered banning all means of communication.

"B-boss?" One dared to ask.

Tsuna smirked and glared at them menacingly, totally out his character . "Get lost." And they scampered immediately. He wanted to scream so badly; he be damned, but he want to kill someone just to let out his rage. He shook his head, sighed deeply, and gave the nearby wall a strong blow causing a part of it to crumble and left cracks on immediate resilient fraction of the wall.

"Tsuna." It was Yamamoto who stared at him with pity. Tsuna stared back and searched for Reborn's presence but he failed. The arcobaleno was gone.

"I don't need sympathy, Yamamoto," Tsuna said, as he re-entered his office and sat on his chair. Yamamoto nodded and left.

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><p>Night again. Nana had made sure the gates were locked. She was expecting any 'Underground Times' newspaper but it seems they won't deliver papers for a while. That evening, she and her husband decided to watch a movie.<p>

As she was was feeding Iemitsu egg omelette with a fork, she asked of how Tsuna was doing.

"And why is he in a rush to find a bride, anyway?"

Iemitsu almost choked. Nana, confused, reached for the glass of water water and gave it to him. He gulped it all down and breathed a relief. He looked at her for a long time.

She blushed. "What?"

"Nana, our son is growing up."

She smiled.

Iemitsu, on the other hand, thought why he can't just tell his wife of Reborn's plans. He sighed, as he drew Nana closer letting her lean on his broad chest.


	3. Chapter 2

**Her Circumstances**

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><p>"Boss."<p>

"Milady?"

They still got no response, although, they were laughing silently at Deb's smiling face while she stared at nowhere.

"Oi, crazy hag."

"Who said that?" Deb turned to them with a seemingly lethal glare. Gehenna, Bleid and Adalfieri didn't look at her. Their gaze jumped around the room, except to where she was. Giving up with the joke, Gehenna dropped a pile of papers on her desk.

"What's with the papers?" She asked, her eyebrows almost one.

"Transactions the boss could only deal with?" Gehenna retorted back.

She sighed. Her face as if disgusted.

"And by the way, milady, why don't you drop by the grocery now and buy us this stuffs?" It was Bleid, tossing her an almost endless list. And before she could refuse, she was left alone in his office. They're not actually treating their boss as a slave, right?

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><p>Deb couldn't help but scrutinize the dim-lighted inside of the tent where the fortune teller dragged her in. She wasn't sure how spacious the place was since being surrounded by old shelves almost ready to stumble on her didn't bring anything but fear for her life. Skull and bones, daggers, old leather-covered books, spider webs, oddly-designed necklaces, encrypted characters and unimaginable figurines were everywhere. In front of her was a dusty table where a white crystal ball and carelessly scattered cards were placed, to which beside it was an empty old chair.<p>

The atmosphere inside was suffocating. She wanted to run away out of the horrible place, but the woman told her to wait. If she wasn't so vexed with her slave-driver slaves, she wouldn't waste her time like this. Either way, she had never been into a fortune teller's place. Curiosity was driving her to stay.

"Oho, you need not worry, dear. This won't take much time," the woman assured her, coming out from an entryway adorned with noisy beads and shell appendages. Despite the nerve-wrecking wait, Deb managed a smile. The woman had been leaving her for minutes, then she'll be back to disappear and reappear for the next time. The woman was wearing a wardrobe with all known colors visibly sparkling on it while on her head was an uncanny silky turbine adorned with several peacock feathers. Dangling feather earrings swayed on both her ears and on her slim arms were numerous varieties of bracelets.

Deb stared at her watch. It was four in the afternoon, and she'd been there for almost two hours! For Pete's sake, she wasted precious two hours of her life waiting for a fortune teller who might as well be just a fake. She was getting irritated but she tried to keep her cool. Her supposedly boredom should be displaced by amusement and yet this was all she got - a cheap scam that irritated her to death. The fortune teller was getting on her nerves.

"Excuse me, madame, if you won't start by now, I think I need to keep going." She was about to stood when she felt the woman's hand on her shoulders not permitting her to do so. The woman pushed her gently back down on the chair.

"Oh, please. Don't be in a hurry, dear."

She opened her mouth in protest but before words would come out, the woman signaled her to be silent. Deb did so obediently as she watched the woman sat elegantly on the chair before her.

"They call me Chiromante."

"I'm Deb," she replied briefly. Giving strangers her full name was just awkward. Furthermore, unsafe.

"I'm a fortune teller."

"_Oh, great. I didn't know that. I thought you were some kind of sales agent,"_ she wanted to reply in sarcasm. Seriously, that was insulting. It was like Chiromante was telling her that she didn't know that she was a fortune teller in the first place. Did she forget she introduced herself as a fortune teller when she dragged her inside that tent? Deb smiled reluctantly and sighed. "Whatever. Then tell me something about my fate, so I can get out of this tent and continue with my oh-so-not interesting life."

Chiromante didn't seem to mind the sarcasm in her voice. She almost jumped out of chair when the woman seized her hand and continually traced the lines in her palms with those cold fingers.

"You'll meet him in the most unusual way," her thick voice started.

The reluctant smile on Deb's face grew wider but Chiromante didn't seem to be bothered by that. She wasn't a teenager anymore to frenzy over fate and destinies. Deb was sure this was all a big scam, and like she'd believe it all. It's not going to be like the movies where the fortune teller's prediction actually came true in the end. Add that to the happy ending where the couple made it be together to the very last. She rolled her eyes with that thought. She was twenty years old, young as it is, and she was not looking forward to any romantic relationships. (?)

"And you'll meet that man this day."

She suppressed the urged to laugh, but something in Chiromante's words was making her nemesis mind to believe it. A wave of restlessness started to leech on her when she met the fortune teller's eyes. In a short while, Chiromante stood before her as if she was an object to be scrutinized.

"What?" She asked uncomfortably. Suddenly, the woman dashed off the place, leaving her behind for the nth time. She stood up and followed the woman who ran behind the dangling appendages of the entryway. That was the final straw. She wanted to see what the woman was doing behind that entryway. Why does she always leave her and come back again? That was suspicious.

"Duct down!" A male voice shouted.

A blinding light met her. She heard a thunderous crash and in such haste, someone pulled her down the floor and covered her with his body from objects that proved harm. Before she knew it, someone confined her in his arms and jumped out before the surrounding shelves would crash them both.

The sudden incident went in such haste that all Deb could do was close her eyes and let whoever was there to protect her. She didn't care who just as long as she would be fine. Dying wasn't an option. She was still going to submit a lot of manuscripts of her manga and be some kind of famous mangaka and seiyuu in Japan. Scratch that, she still have to marry Logan Lerman or Devon Bostick or that Finnick Odair. (insert crispy laugh here)

"Jyuudaime!" Her thoughts broke.

That loud harsh voice of a young man brought Deb back to her senses, and she realized that she was being carried by a russet-haired man. She turned to see the unsightly display of the place's demolition and the presence of the silver-haired man in black-jet tuxedo. She could not recognize the tent where she just entered back then; all she was seeing at the moment were remnants and the flames scattered all around. The sight made her paralyzed. What could have happened to her if she wasn't saved?

Still being held in the young man's arms, Deb took her time to observe him. He had a russet spiky hair, and slick brown eyes. He gives off a cordial aura but at the same time, his eyes would send a doubt of his personality. His features seemed quite feminine but left her an impression of being cute. Nah, him clothed in a black suite made him to appeal more as a man. Her guess was that the man was at the same age as her.

Finally, the man met her eyes. "You alright?"

Though his voice was friendly, she couldn't reply. Fear was still lingering on her system. "Before I answer that, would you kindly bring me down?" She requested politely.

"No prob." He bent a bit, safely making her foot on the ground but she fell to her knees.

"I think I'll have to carry you." The man bent down to carry her again.

"It's alright. I can just call my subord-, I mean friends, to fetch me here."

He smiled. "I'm sorry but that won't do. We were instructed to take you under custody."

Deb blinked. Her eyes roamed from the brunet and to the silver-haired one. "Huh?"


	4. Chapter 3

**She is...**

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><p><em>Tsuna was busy signing papers when Reborn entered his office. <em>

"_We've got a mission, Tsuna," he said, earning his attention from the papers. Tsuna raised an eyebrow and dropped the black pen on the paper. "What is it?" He leaned on his black swivel chair, interested as why would Reborn deliver a mission to him personally. Usually, he'd just call or let Gokudera or his other guardians report to him.  
>" We're going to capture a drug dealer. We have to arrest this woman in guise of a fortune teller."<br>Tsuna got even more confused. The mission didn't sound so dangerous that he, the boss of Vongola, would be necessary to be there. "Why do I have to be there when Gokudera and the others could do that?" _

"_It's a part of your training. She's not an ordinary drug dealer, Tsuna. She sells drugs that could temporarily give unusual abilities." _

"_Call Mukuro. He wanted cases like this." _

"_He's busy. You coming or not?" He held Tsuna's picture when he was fourteen years old, running in his boxers like a madman. _

"_What you gonna do with that?" He gawked at him, standing up. _

"_I have friends from the media." Reborn's eyes gleamed victory._

_Tsuna sighed. He definitely didn't like that photo to occupy the entirety of a newspaper's front page._

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><p>"I swear I don't have any idea of your accusations!" She slammed the table in annoyance.<p>

They were accusing her of illegal profiting under the disguise of being a fortune-teller. Worse was that, being a seer was the façade of distributing illegal drugs to the customers. Did she look like a fortune teller? She held and observed her clothes. Nothing suspicious, she looks pretty respectable.

"We've met a lot of people like you, lady. They always deny their ways of work," Gokudera stated calmly. The silver-haired bastard was annoyingly arrogant. She met his belittling eyes.

The room they were in was gloomily empty and cold; saved for a few chairs and a single long wooden table. Gokudera was standing in front of her with one hand on the table which served as a divider between her and her interrogators. Gokudera, the brunet or Jyuudaime, and another silver-haired turf head was with her inside the room.

"I'm telling the truth!"

"You're acting guilty as you are now," the silver-haired turf head commented. It was even annoying when he nodded as if he was sure that she was the real adversary here. Who wouldn't be frantic at a sudden turn of circumstances? It wasn't pleasing at all. She knew, at times like this, she should be calm if she hadn't done anything wrong but her system wouldn't cooperate. She was getting panicky and her psychological facet had been affected that she couldn't control her temper. And the silence of that Jyuudaime-person was making her even more nervous.

"Wait a minute." She stood up in realization, slamming her hands on the table, for the second time. "You're the police, right? You didn't Mirandized me? That's against the law! I need a lawyer. I have the right to have one," she insisted.

This time it was the brunet who answered. "We are not the police." Saying that with an awkward smile was made Deb swirl into a deeper maze of confusion.

"We're mafia."

Deb was dumbfounded. "W-what?" She knew she heard that right, but her mouth couldn't just help to voice that out in surprise.

Even if she was in one, mafia didn't sound appealing to her. Secret criminal organizations never sounded good because that word always reminds her of widespread drug-dealing, illegal profiting, prostitution, and the like; and she never liked those kinds of matter.

"We're mafia," the brunet repeated. "But you shouldn't associate us with the bad guys." He ruffled his hair as if he himself was hard up in explaining his self. You can't blame him. Giving a new insight regarding mafia was difficult since Mafia, for Deb, was already a criminal conviction. Plus, she's in one, too.

"Tsuna, you're being summoned by Reborn," a familiar voice suddenly called out. Deb gazed at the woman who entered the door to confirm her notion. Even though, she wasn't wearing any of those obnoxious blings and uncanny clothes, the voice and the woman's eyes said it all. But Deb has to admit, the woman looked pretty without those exaggerated garnishes. She had a long pink hair and a pair of deep green eyes.

"Chiromante!" She pointed at her accusingly. "That woman dragged me inside that tent! It wasn't me! She's the real deal in here!"

Everybody in the room sighed. They didn't believe her at all. But Deb noticed a change on Gokudera's disposition. He fell on the floor clutching his stomach. The russet-haired man frantically approached Gokudera, and then turned to the woman. "I'll go. Bianchi-nee, you should keep going, too."

"He still hasn't gotten over that sickness. Whenever I see him, he's always like that. Anyway, see you guys around. I'll go meet the chef. I'll help with the dinner." And before Bianchi disappeared from her sight, she met Deb's eyes, smiled and waved goodbye. She felt like she had just been splashed with cold water. On the other hand, the three men, Deb felt, were somewhat dispirited as if they just learned that they were sentenced to death.

"I'll pass for dinner this time." The three of them said in unison. Obviously, there's something wrong with the woman's cooking.

The brunet, whom she now knew as Tsuna, turned to Gokudera, worried for his welfare.

"Gokudera, you alright to the extreme?" The other silver-haired guy was loud; as if he was reprimanding instead of querying of the poor soul's wellness.

"Shut up, turf-head," Gokudera managed to hiss at him as his addressee helped him to stand up. After which, he turned to Tsuna, "Sorry about this, Jyuudaime."

"You should take a rest, Gokudera," he replied in sympathy.

"Just give him some medicine and he'll be fine. Give me a break! I'm the one who doesn't have any idea what's going on!" Deb yelled.

"You have no right to shout at Jyuudaime, you hag!" Gokudera suddenly got on his foot and was seemingly out of illness when he started to yell back energetically at Deb.

"I'm not yelling at her, you bastard!"

"You just proved how dumb you are, woman! It's not a 'her'! Jyuudaime's a man!"

"Well sorry about that! Your Jyuudaime looks so feminine to me! I wouldn't be surprised if you're hitting on her – I mean, him!"

Gokudera blanched, but he still managed to retort. "I don't care if you're a girl, damn it! Insult our boss again and I'll make sure you'll pay for it! You have guts to talk against Vongola, especially to their boss!"

Deb was dumbfounded. She wasn't sure if what she heard was right. What does Gokudera mean? That he was Vongola's boss? No, wait. She was under Vongola's custody? But, why? Questions started piling one after another inside Deb's mind. What do they want from her? Did they know?

"Gokudera, I'll settle this one. Leave the two of us here," the brunet said, breaking her thoughts. Gokudera frowned. It was obvious that he didn't like the idea but he had no choice but follow.

When the others were gone, it was Deb who started the conversation.

"Are you, by any chance, Tsunayoshi Sawada?"

He nodded.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes in disbelief. "Why am I held under custody? I swear to you, I am not the fortune teller you're looking for. I don't do drugs."

"So it seems. I apologize for the ruckus then." His face betrayed his words. He didn't seem apologetic. In fact, his tone was sarcasm itself and he didn't do away his stare.

Did she annoy him when she said he was feminine? That made her nervous.

"T-then can I go home?"

"That's okay, Miss Cunningham, you're already home," a high pitched, childish voice called her attention. It was a small kid clad with a black tuxedo matching a dark fedora hat.

"Name?"  
>She hesitated. "D-Deborah Cunningham"<p>

"Age?"

"20"

"Occupation?"

"I'm a freelancer."

"Are you sure?"

"No. I'm an employee at a certain company."

"What company?"

"Uh, I invoke my right to remain silent?"

Her gaze jumped around the room and to the two people in front of her. She gave a light smile, a sign of disbelief. She was getting panicky. It seemed like they don't have any plans to let her go. What will they do to her – engage her to slavery? She imagined herself in such situation – a maid or a prostitute? That made her shiver.

Mustering all the courage she could have, she asked. "W-what do you want from me?"

Deb saw the Vongola boss sighed as he frowned. He held his head.

"I'm Reborn, a hitman and the tutor of Tsuna. Miss Deborah Cunningham, congratulations, you've been chosen as a candidate to be Vongola Decimo's bride."

Deb frowned in confusion. They were kidding her, right?

Wait, was Tsuna also surprised?


	5. Chapter 4

**The First Job**

* * *

><p>The Vongola bloodline, especially their bosses, had a certain attribute of having an intense sense of compassion. Tsuna, being part of that lineage, did not fail to acquire that. Hyper intuition was what Reborn told him it was. And now, that hyper tuition was telling him that the lady had really no fault at all. Reborn was very good at organizing set ups, that's all what he could say.<p>

The lady had already retired to her assigned room. Reborn, on the other hand, he found inside his office. Tsuna couldn't help but frown at his tutor. "What are you planning Reborn? How could you involve an innocent person in this? And telling her that she's a candidate for 'that' was really embarrassing."

He waited for Reborn's explanation. He knew his cursed hit man tutor wasn't a baby just to become another problem in his list. Reborn met his gaze as he tossed out a black folder on Tsuna's table. The Vongola boss sat on his chair and reluctantly held the folder which contained Deb's recent picture and all information linked to her.

"Have you heard of Asretto?"

"Yes, the comeback of Estraneo?" Tsuna remembered Mukuro. Estraneo was the family from where Mukuro originally was from. They used him. Mukuro paid them back.

"Yes. You've been reading your papers, Tsuna," Reborn praised.

A vein popped behind Tsuna's head. "What's that suppose to mean? And don't change the topic, Reborn"

Ignoring Tsuna's remark, Reborn continued. "We need to make our move. We do not know what the Asretto may be up to."

"I know. But Reborn, why was this Deborah chosen? Are these 'candidates' chosen randomly?"

"It's good for you to know her Tsuna. She's a candidate. And before I forget, she will be working under you as your personal assistant," Reborn replied, like that helped to answer Tsuna's questions.

"I already have a right-hand man, Reborn.?"

"Yes, you do have a right-hand man. Anyway, I'll leave you the responsibility of offering her the job. Remember, if you fail this time…" Reborn paused intentionally giving time for his Leon to transform into tonfas. "I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna didn't know how to react at that. Reborn didn't even answer his question. Laughing was the first option but he was sure, Reborn would kill him for being rude or something. Seriously, he never expected his sadistic tutor to copy his cloud guardian's disgustingly famous line. And if ever Hibari knew that he just called his line disgusting, he'll seriously end up being dead.

"Shall I tell Hibari then?"

"Curse that art of mind reading. Stop reading my mind, Reborn!"

Reborn just paid a smirk and took his leave. "See you around, dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna sighed. Being called a no-good was a thing of the past. Back then was different from now; however, he was still the person who stayed first at Fuuta's list of people who can't just say no. Yep, he was still kind and trusting as ever.

Either way, Tsuna was left in despair. How can he convince the woman to be his personal assistant? More than that, how can Gokudera accept that? For all he cares, Gokudera might sulk in a corner questioning his efficiency in work. Thanks to Reborn who was really making his life unbearable. If he hadn't any will, he would have killed his self right from the start. He slumped into his swivel chair and faced the window behind his mahogany table. He thought so deeply that he didn't notice someone entered his office.

"The name is Tsunayoshi Sawada. I'm sorry for the messed up. You see, my sadistic, arrogant adviser who has a shape shifting chameleon named Leon, a black fedora hat with a yellow band, has ugly sunburns, and who has no right to act cute or so, had done everything because he wanted you to be my assistant for some reason I don't even know. I almost forgot to tell you how bossy my adviser is. So yeah, would you accept the job? Yes, no. Okay? What the heck, Tsuna, you're talking to yourself. Stressed much, huh?" He sighed.

"More than anything, that sounds stupid. I'll just ask Gokudera to tell her to accept… wait, no, not Gokudera. Who knows what might happen. Ryohei-niisan might be a good option to ask help." He sighed and closed his eyes for a second but Reborn kept on raping his mind. "What a slave driver. I don't feel like I'm the boss in here."

"Oi, lady. Be my assistant!" He exclaimed in a threatening voice thinking of Xanxus' actions – eyes glaring death, coldness in tone, and that entire Varia Quality passable for being a ruthless assassin.

He laughed. "I'll pass copying Xanxus."

When he turned around to work on his papers, a certain someone caught her attention. How he wished he never talk to his self in the first place.

Tsuna smiled nervously. "How long have you been there?"

Deborah, the lady whom Reborn wanted to be his personal assistant so bad, was leaning on the closed door with an amused smile on her face. The smile on Deb's face grew wider. Tsuna smiled back stupidly. He knew the lady heard all his uncalled performance.

"That Reborn already asked me to be your personal assistant. I'm up for the job, b-boss."

"Eh?" Tsuna blinked.

"I'm your personal assistant now."

"What did Reborn do to convince you?" He asked with his mien not devoid of curiosity.

Deb just shrugged.

* * *

><p>Three days passed, Deb didn't know how to work with Tsuna. In fact, they didn't tell her anything of her work . No job information nor description, nothing. There were no papers given to her to work on. That was alright because she never really liked paperwork but she didn't really know if she should be thankful for that, at times like that. She felt like they just did that to keep her in custody. The thought made her nervous. Maybe, they really know that she's from Asretto and they're messing with her. They didn't even let her go home.<p>

All she did was stay in Tsuna's office doing nothing, plus he's not always around. There were a few books in his office which she read patiently for the sake of killing time. Wait, why didn't she consider escaping? But they might kill her if she did, mafia is a cruel world. Tsk, whatever. She stood up with a determination to get out of the place. She treaded her way towards the main door. She didn't spend the three days for nothing. After all, she almost walked all over the place. Thus, she knew every way there is.

As she was about to step outside, someone grabbed her hands. "Where are you going?" She turned to see a glaring Gokudera.

"Take a walk outside; get fresh air," she answered with clichéd phrases. That would do better than telling him she was getting out of the place.

"Heh, thought you were escaping." A small smile played in his lips. She was almost relieved until Gokudera stared intently at him.

"What?"

"Do you have time?"

She nodded. "There's still no work for me, I guess."

"That's because I'm enough. A personal assistant isn't really necessary." It was obvious Gokudera didn't want her there. The feeling was mutual. She didn't like being there either.

"Then tell that to your boss so that he could fire me already."

"You talk proudly for a personal assistant."

She snapped. "Sorry for that. I just don't know what the hell I'm doing here. You people told me that I'm in this job yet I'm here doing nothing. What the hell is with this set-up? If you're boss is smart enough, I – who got nothing to do in this stupid place – wouldn't be here right now!" Her voice rose, almost shouting at him.

"You got nothing to do, you said?" The smirk in his face irked her. He grabbed her hands again and pulled her as he treaded a way.

"Where are we going?"

"To my office."

She panicked. "What are we going to do there?"

He just paid her a smirk. She turned red.

"No, wait. That's not my job. Let go." She protested. She tried to get out from his grip but he was too strong for her.

"Here we are." He pushed her inside. He followed and closed the door to which he leaned on.

She cursed inside. Damn it, is this is what she got from trying to escape? She looked around the room. Was there something to use as a weapon? To her surprise, the room was almost covered with papers.

"Okay, woman. I give you your first job: clean this place."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's what I'm gonna do here?"

"What else would you do here?" He looked at her as if she was an idiot. "Either way, when I come back I want this place spotless. See ya. You should thank me. Now you have something to do." He laughed crisply, and left.

She sighed. What the hell was that? She was not his personal assistant. She was not even his maid! But he is Tsuna's right hand man so she had no choice but follow, else she doesn't know what would happen to her.

She started cleaning the place around ten in the morning and finished around four in the afternoon. Those papers were overwhelming, plus pens, clips, and staple wires were just everywhere. Who could work under such environment? She slammed her body on the sofa in front of the office table. She was tired alright. She closed her eyes to rest for a while. It was then that the door opened revealing Gokudera. He looked as tired as she is.

He scanned the place with his eyes. "Good job." He commented wearily. "Now, get me some water."

Deb frowned. The word personal assistant had just demoted to maid.


End file.
